CostGrade
F

16/100

#2,280 nationally

University Of Colorado Hospital Authority

12605 E 16Th Ave, Aurora, CO 80045 · (720) 848-0000

Among the highest charge markups in the country

For every $1 of care Medicare actually paid for here, University Of Colorado Hospital Authority billed $7.28 in list charges. That gap does not change a Medicare patient's bill — but it is where an uninsured or out-of-network bill starts.

Charge-to-payment
7.3x
volume-weighted across all its priced work
Procedures priced
225
inpatient and outpatient combined
Rank in CO
#36
lower markup ranks higher
CMS quality stars
5/5
shown for context, not in the grade

How this grade was reached

Each component is scored against every other U.S. hospital in the same federal files, so the grade is a position in the country, not a pass mark we invented.

Inpatient charge markup 5.7/35

Better than 16% of U.S. hospitals.

Outpatient charge markup 5.7/25

Better than 23% of U.S. hospitals.

Price level vs national median 3.8/30

Better than 13% of U.S. hospitals.

Price consistency 1.2/10

Better than 12% of U.S. hospitals.

What this hospital treats most

The ten procedures it billed Medicare for most often, with its charge beside the national middle.

Procedure Patients Charged Actually paid vs national
Level 1 Intraocular Procedures

APC 5491 · Hospital outpatient visit

1,457 $10,994 $2,207 -6%
Comprehensive Observation Services

APC 8011 · Hospital outpatient visit

1,420 $43,843 $2,579 +126%
Level 2 Urology and Related Services

APC 5372 · Hospital outpatient visit

1,216 $3,833 $648 +22%
Level 3 Urology and Related Services

APC 5373 · Hospital outpatient visit

688 $13,112 $1,922 about average
Level 2 Upper GI Procedures

APC 5302 · Hospital outpatient visit

649 $14,170 $1,796 +21%
Level 2 Excision/ Biopsy/ Incision and Drainage

APC 5072 · Hospital outpatient visit

602 $12,581 $1,533 +25%
Level 3 Excision/ Biopsy/ Incision and Drainage

APC 5073 · Hospital outpatient visit

439 $21,165 $2,691 +20%
Level 3 Vascular Procedures

APC 5183 · Hospital outpatient visit

360 $31,826 $3,012 +67%
Sepsis (severe)

MS-DRG 871 · Inpatient stay

327 $154,833 $23,019 +137%
Level 2 Intraocular Procedures

APC 5492 · Hospital outpatient visit

317 $21,993 $3,834 +6%

Where its charges run furthest above the national middle

Only procedures it performed at least eleven times, so a single unusual case cannot produce the headline.

Procedure Charged Actually paid vs national
Other Cerebrovascular Disorders with Major Complications

MS-DRG 070 · Inpatient stay

$248,598 $25,834 +275%
Pathological Fractures and Musculoskeletal and Connective Tissue Malignancy with Major

MS-DRG 542 · Inpatient stay

$252,671 $18,905 +269%
Coagulation Disorders

MS-DRG 813 · Inpatient stay

$233,097 $46,510 +248%
Digestive Disorder (without major complications)

MS-DRG 392 · Inpatient stay

$111,641 $17,508 +246%
Hip or Knee Replacement (severe)

MS-DRG 469 · Inpatient stay

$470,692 $87,976 +234%
Other Cerebrovascular Disorders with Complications

MS-DRG 071 · Inpatient stay

$134,673 $11,268 +204%
Nervous System Neoplasms with Major Complications

MS-DRG 054 · Inpatient stay

$192,724 $19,604 +192%
Skin Infection (severe)

MS-DRG 602 · Inpatient stay

$149,190 $19,749 +191%

Where it charges least relative to everyone else

Procedure Charged Actually paid vs national
Level 3 Lower GI Procedures

APC 5313 · Hospital outpatient visit

$12,635 $2,651 -24%
Chemotherapy with Acute Leukemia as Secondary Diagnosis or with High Dose Chemotherapy a

MS-DRG 837 · Inpatient stay

$157,471 $48,961 -15%
Adrenal and Pituitary Procedures with Complications/mcc

MS-DRG 614 · Inpatient stay

$89,613 $23,584 -12%
Level 3 Neurostimulator and Related Procedures

APC 5463 · Hospital outpatient visit

$52,316 $12,947 -10%
Level 1 Intraocular Procedures

APC 5491 · Hospital outpatient visit

$10,994 $2,207 -6%
Level 4 Airway Endoscopy

APC 5154 · Hospital outpatient visit

$22,355 $3,536 about average
Back and Neck Procedures Except Spinal Fusion with Major Complications or Disc Device or

MS-DRG 518 · Inpatient stay

$204,037 $35,651 about average
Level 7 Urology and Related Services

APC 5377 · Hospital outpatient visit

$57,016 $11,811 about average

What this page cannot tell you

  • It is not your bill. These are averages across Medicare patients. What you pay depends on your insurance, your plan's negotiated rate and your own case.
  • It is not a quality rating. A hospital with a high markup may be excellent, and one with a low markup may not be. We checked: across every U.S. hospital, markup and the CMS quality star rating barely move together.
  • A charge is not a cost. Hospitals do not collect their list charges from insured patients. The number matters because it is the opening figure on an uninsured or out-of-network bill.
  • Ask for the real number. Every U.S. hospital must publish a machine-readable price file and give you a written good-faith estimate on request.